From their first work together on the Birth of the Cool sessions in 1949,
Miles Davis and
Gil Evans forged
a unique relationship as great soloist and brilliant arranger. The
real opportunity to explore their shared vision didn't come until 1957,
however, when Davis had forged a relationship with a major record
label able to support it. Though a product of the big-band tradition,
Evans was never limited by sectional voicings and riffs. He had an
interest in unusual instrumentation and a talent for creating subtle
mixes of distinct voices, adding French horns, oboe, bassoon, and harp
to the conventional big band and thinning its saxophone, trumpet, and
trombone sections. His arrangements for Davis are like settings for the
finest jewels, whether he's creating rich, brass chords or adding only
light percussion to the trumpeter's solitary lament. Together Davis
and Evans produced three orchestral masterpieces: Miles Ahead (1957),
Porgy and Bess (1958), and Sketches of Spain (1960). They're all here,
along with less-inspired, later projects like the Quiet Nights bossa
nova album. What most distinguishes the box set is the archival work of
Phil Schaap, who has compiled a wealth of alternate takes. They reveal
much about the processes that went into these works, including
extensive editing and even some overdubbing. As early as 1957, Evans
and Davis were already beginning to use the studio itself as an
integral part of their music.
Interplay, Prestige Records' 5-CD set, containing early collaborative recordings of the peerless tenor saxophonist and visionary John Coltrane,
serves two distinct purposes. The first is to offer an extraordinary
collection of music that provides an excellent overview of the modern
jazz scene during the fertile 1956-1958 period. The other - and
arguably more important purpose to the legions of Coltrane faithful -
is its rich delineation of the evolutionary process behind one of the
most profoundly important and emotionally compelling artists this planet
has ever seen.
